The Lone Ninja
by H34T
Summary: On his way back from Suna, Naruto finds himself coming across many strange events. In an attempt to contact Gaara, he learns something about why he is seeing this red-eyed man, and why Gaara is no longer Kazekage. Idea taken from "The Hitchhiker".


The Lone Ninja

Hey, I just finished reading a short story called "The Hitchhiker" by Lucille Fletcher and I came up with a kinda neat way to put Naruto characters into it. Don't own the story or Naruto, the plot like and character credit goes to the rightful authors. I am only credited for the combination.

Now that that's done, off we go.

I'm sane, totally normal, whatever definition of normal is to you.

Don't get me wrong, I'm aware and logical, though my friends would say differently. Anyways, let's see, I was 17 at the time, enjoying my life and all that good jazz.

"Naruto, promise me that you will be careful on your trip." I looked into Gaara's worried eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line.

I had just finished a mission in Suna, eager to return to Konoha and where it's a lot less dry and hot. I shoved my hands into my black pants, my sand cloak flowing around me.

"I promise, Gaara. Sheesh, I've made this trip dozens of times, and Akatsuki hasn't made a move for a while."

"I know, just, be careful. Please, call me when you reach Konoha"

Telephones were a rare sight in the ninja world; expensive, And difficult to make. But Gaara had been able to get me one, a mobile one at that, it was rather large and bulky, but usable none the less. It only worked for a couple of minutes before it ran out of power and had to be charged.

It was a damp morning; the sun had just begun to rise over the horizon. Not a single cloud was in the sky yet something overshadowed my mind, impairing my judgment. Something I just couldn't put my finger on…

Tossing it aside, I bid a final farewell to my second family in Suna and began my trek back to Konoha.

It was that night when I saw _him_…

I was dashing to the edge of the desert, the forest coming into view. It was dark, a crescent moon hanging low in the night sky. It was cold once more, the air nipping at my skin from under my cloak. It must have been my footfalls that caught his attention for he was staring off in the distance before. He glanced at me, with a nondescript face, a long, thin sword by his side, and a white lengthy scarf wrapped around his neck.

20 feet

As I neared, my hand grasped around the cold handle of a kunai in my holster, preparing for any move he would that would be a threat to me.

12 feet

I drew closer, me feet digging past the sand and hitting solid ground, the pounding of my feet grew louder. I enjoyed the solid sound of my feet hitting real ground instead soft sand.

7 feet

He made no move to interfere with me, his face still shadowed, pointed my way. I felt slightly unnerved by the way he just stood there, not caring, leisurely leaning against the trunk of a tree. I could make out fresh droplets rain on his shoulders.

2 feet

At that moment, we met eyes, my azure ones bore into blood shot ones, puffy with the lack of sleep. With amazing speed, he gracefully wielded the sword by his side, the black blade reflecting little moonlight. I jumped out of the way as the weapon came crashing down, the thought of Akatsuki briefly crossing my mind.

I quickly slid to a halt, throwing my kunai at the stranger, not bothering to look up. But when I did, I was puzzled.

I hadn't heard the thunk of my kunai if it had missed and hit the tree, or the familiar sound it would have made if it had hit him.

He was gone, and so was my kunai.

Staring at where he used to stand, I couldn't find anything, no tracks, not even a mark where his sword had been for I swore it had been sunken into the soft earth. Not a single trace of him being there. I frowned, thinking it might have been just a hallucination I had had due my lack of sleep.

I continued on my way, running through the night and into dawn. My muscles ached but I had no intention to rest. My mind drifted once more to the man I had seen last night, the way he moved, the way he smelled, almost familiar to me. I couldn't see his hair, it having been dark. I could see his eyes, though, a deep, crimson color.

Then, I saw him once more.

I was at a small village, about one and a half days away from Konoha if I ran through the night. I gave the hotel receptionist the tab of the Konoha mission force, food and shelter on missions being paid by taxes. She accepted it with a smile and handed the card back to me, along with a white, plastic tab with a key attached.

"Hey," I asked out, catching her attention before she went back to reading her book. "Has it rained here lately?"

She gave me a funny look before replying, "No, sir. In fact, it hasn't rained here for months."

"Thanks, that's all I needed to know." I nodded and went on my way, glancing at my room number.

_Room 7_

I was walking to my room, twirling the key around my finger like I do with my kunais. Swiftly unlocking the door to my room, I dropped my pack onto the floor with a muffled thud. Switching on the light, I could see a simple futon in the middle the room, cool, night air flowed through the open window. I let out a calm breath, my muscles finally having a chance to relax a bit.

I slowly made my way to the bathroom, my bare feet padding against the mat floor. I ran my hand through my hair, frowning slightly at the amount of sand stuck in my hair. I decided to have a quick shower.

I felt a presence while the hot water ran down my back, my muscles tensing slowly from their prior relaxed state.

"Who's there?" I growled out, unable to see through the blurry glass door.

"A ninja like you should know not to relax too much." His voice had a hollow tone to it, yet it was soothing somehow, I swore I had gone mad when that thought ran through my head.

"Who are you?" I hated repeating myself, but in the situation, I decided to anyways.

"One's laxness will be his flaw." The voice came from behind, a cold breath running across my heated neck.

Dust and grout flew in every which way as I attempted to drive a rasengan into the man's gut, my hand punching through to the neighboring room instead. It was fortunately empty.

I found myself standing there, naked and wet, staring into the large hole. I cursed myself under my breath as I heard the hotel security can sprinting down the hall. Grabbing a towel just in time, I wrapped it around my waist just as they opened the door to the vacant room, swords drawn.

"Sorry about that, someone tried to kill me in the shower." I forced myself to say in a somewhat cheerful tone, the look of doubt splashing across the faces of the guards. I could tell they didn't share my sense of humor in the situation.

I left first thing I the morning, feeling like a fool. It would be hard explaining why the village was being charged with 'the destruction of a hotel room'. I thought over what the man had said, His voice scratching and worn out, like he had been screaming bloody Mary prior to my encounter with him. The farming fields slowly melted away as I traveled further from the small civil village. Dense foliage surrounded me by the time it was noon.

I noticed that my rations had gotten low and I wasn't in the mood to take a soldier pill for the rest of the trip. The sound of a river caught my attention, I decided to stop and fish for my meal. If I continued this pace, I would be home in about a day.

My kage bushins came in handy of in a couple of minutes I already had three fish roasting over the fire. A cool breeze coaxed me to relax about the truck of a tree. I slid my eyelids closed and began to dose off before a rustle snapped me back to reality. I quickly stood up and wielded a kunai gracefully, the movement having been engraved into my brain.

"Oh, I'm so for having disturbing you, mister." A girl stepped out from the bushes, a basket full of red berries stabilized on her hip. She looked to be around ten.

"Don't sweat it; I'm only going to be here for a few more minutes before I'm on my way." I replied to her, not relaxing a bit after what had happened the day before.

She made her way to the river and proceeded to wash the berries in her basket in a calm part of the steam. The red color turned the water a deep crimson, a substance I was so accustomed to seeing.

"So where are you going?" She asked in a curious voice, taking her eyes off of the task she was doing.

"Back home." I began to feel that I my personal space was being threatened by the girl; I was trained to be as secret as possible about my actions. The Akatsuki were still out there somewhere. I started to eat my meal, hoping that the girl would finish up and take her leave.

"Where's that?"

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

We continued to chat, though she did most of the chatting as I continued to give short answers or a simple nod. She bid me farewell and disappeared into the forest once she had finished, leaving me to put out the fire and head out in my own way.

I continued my journey, thinking little of the small encounter. Dusk soon came around and I found myself running through the night. I paid no heed to the coldness of the air, but it struck me as odd since it was in the middle of summer. At round the middle of the night, I came across another small village. It consisted of a small cluster of homes and a single larger building in the middle. I could make out the words 'Sandy Inn' on the wooden sign out front. I decided to spend the night. I walked into the well-lit lobby, marveling at how nice it looked compared to the outside.

"Hello, may I get a room for one?" I asked the man at the counter, his back turned to me.

He turned around, and the first I saw was his eyes; blood-shot and crimson red.

Stumbling, I sprinted out of the building, my heart pounding against my ribcage. I could hear the blood in my eyes, but that didn't stop me from hearing his cackled laugh. It was the first time I felt real fear since I faced off with Pein.

I made my way to the nearest tree and leaned against, wishing my beating heart to still. I lost track of time and saw the sun beginning to rise on the horizon. Had I spent that much time against the tree?

I regained my composure and opted to phone Gaara. I heard somewhere that friends could be the only light in the darkness. All I needed to hear was his calm and even voice to assure myself for the rest of the trip. It was morning, not that it mattered since I knew Gaara didn't sleep.

The device fit awkwardly in my hand; it weighed more than a Fuuma Shuriken. I dialed Gaara's office number and put the speaker up to my ear, the cool metal pressing against my skin.

"Hello, Kazekage Office."

"Hello. Hello-Gaara?"

There was a pause before the voice replied. "This is the Kazekage's Office. Who is it you wish to speak to, please?"

It was a women's voice, not mature enough to be Temari's. Her voice seemed flat, a void of emotions. I could tell that she was attempting to hide some kind of emotion though.

" Why- who's this?"

"This is Matsuri."

"Matsuri, I don't know any Matsuri. This is Gaara's Office right?"

"Yes"

"Where's Gaara? Where's the Kazekage?"

"The temporary Kazekage is Baki, Gaara is not in the condition to be the Kazekage at the moment. He is still in the hospital."

"The hospital!"

"Yes. Who is this calling, please? Is it a member of the family?"

"What's he in the hospital for?"

"He's been prostrated for the last two days. Nervous breakdown. But who is this calling?"

"Nervous breakdown? But-this is Gaara's he's already been through so much…"

"It's all taken place since the death of his closest friend, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Death of his closest friend, Uzumaki Naruto… Hey-what is this some kind of hoax?"

"No, sir. It's all been very sudden, really. He was killed three days ago on the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. He was found dead next to a bush of red berries, a kunai stabbed his heart."

I could hear the phone losing power and become static filled as Matsuri attempted to speak to me.

"Hello? Sir? -SSHHZZ -Sir? -SSSSSHHHHZZZ-"

And so, I am sitting in the middle of an abandoned village half a day away of Konoha. I am trying to think. I am trying to get hold of myself. Otherwise, I shall go mad…. Outside it is night- the vast, still expanse of forest in the heart of the Land of Fire. A million stars are in the sky. All around me stretch a thousand miles of empty trees, rivers,-deserts. And somewhere among them, he is waiting for me. Somewhere I shall know who he is, and who…I…am…

-_Goodnight-_

Wow, I delayed this fic for so long. Anyways, you should really check out the real story, title and author up at the top. Hope you liked it because the real one sent shivers down my spine when I pieced everything together.


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